Bengals get a lot of A’s, B’s in win
Here is the Cincinnati Bengals’ report card from their 20-16 victory against Buffalo on Sunday:
Rush offense
■ The Good: The Bengals got their first rushing touchdown of the season and stayed committed to the ground game with 27 carries despite minimal production.
■ The Bad: That minimal production of just 65 yards for a 2.4 average.
■ Key Play: The Mixon touchdown obviously was the biggest, but honorable mention goes to Mixon’s 9-yard run for a first down one play after quarterback Andy Dalton suffered an ankle injury and the team had to call a timeout to let him shake it off. Mixon’s first down gave Dalton even more time, and the first down extended a drive that would end in points with a 30-yard field goal.
■ Grade: C-
Pass offense
■ The Good: Beginning with an accurate deep ball on the 77-yard yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green, Dalton had a great day despite the ankle injury, and a chunk of the credit goes to the maligned offensive line, which allowed just one sack on 36 pass attempts.
■ The Bad: While the rainy weather certainly played a role, the Bengals can’t have balls bouncing off the hands of receivers. Green’s two drops that led to interceptions were the most glaring, but he wasn’t the only culprit.
■ Key Play: The 47-yard pass to Green one play before Mixon’s game-winning touchdown came on a third-and-10 play, making it the third third-down conversion of at least 8 yards in the pivotal third quarter.
■ Grade: A
Rush defense
■ The Good: The Bengals held the run-reliant Bills to 82 yards on 24 carries for a 3.4-yard average, dropping LeSean McCoy for a loss on four carries and holding to 3 yards or fewer on 10 of his 19 attempts.
■ The Bad: The one time McCoy got loose was a 14-yard carry on first down after the Bengals pinned the Bills at their own 13 just inside the 2-minute warning. The breathing room enabled Buffalo to get a little more aggressive and eventually move into Cincinnati territory before essentially running out the clock in the first half.
■ Key play: After Brandon Tate’s 41-yard punt return gave the Bills the ball at the Cincinnati 12 down four with a chance to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, Vontaze Burfict dropped McCoy for a 4-yard loss on second down to set up third and 14. The Bills had to settle for a check down and eventual field goal, and the Bengals maintained the lead.
■ Grade: A-
Pass defense
■ The Good: In addition to recording six more sacks to move into second place in the league, the Bengals employed a disciplined pass rush that kept elusive Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor from getting loose outside the pocket. Taylor finished with one carry for 3 yards.
■ The Bad: One of the only blips on an otherwise solid day had the Bengals failing to get off the field on third and 10 when Taylor hit Tate for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
■ Key play: The Bills got the ball back at their own 25 with 3:33 left and a chance to win the game with a touchdown drive, but Michael Johnson’s sack on first down threw the entire series off schedule, and two plays later George Iloka intercepted Taylor to seal the win.
■ Grade: A-
Special teams
■ The Good: Kevin Huber dropped three more punts inside the 20 to move into a tie for the NFL lead in that category, and kicker Randy Bullock made both field goals in a tight game.
■ The Bad: Tate’s 40-yard punt return could have been the catalyst for a Bills win had the defense not prevented Buffalo from gaining 12 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
■ Key Play: Bullock’s 29-yard field goal with 3:33 remaining extended the Bengals lead to 20-16 and took big-legged Buffalo kicker Steven Hauschka, the two time defending AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, out of the mix.
■ Grade: B
Coaching
■ The Good: As good as the offensive and defensive game plans were coming in, the in-game management to keep everything together despite awful weather, three turnovers by the usually sure-handed Green and a potentially game-changing punt return deserves praise.
■ The Bad: There were six more penalties, three of which were 15-yarders, making the Bengals the 11th most penalized team in the league.
■ Key Play: Opting to a burn a timeout to give Dalton some extra time to walk off his ankle injury wasn’t exactly a high-risk call, but it was the right one and it paid off.
■ Grade: B+